EAGLE RIVER, WI | AMSOIL SNOCROSS NATIONAL

March 26th - 28th 2021
World Championship Derby Complex
 
Writing and Photos by Crystal Wallem Photography
  
 Amsoil Championship Snocross headed back to the World Championship Derby Complex for the two final rounds of racing. The Grand Finale included three days of racing—Rounds 15 & 16 on Friday and Saturday, and the Amsoil Dominator on Sunday to cap off the season. Contrast to the previous weekend, the track at Eagle River was ran clockwise for the finale weekend—all right-hand turns, proposing a challenge for many riders who are used to tracks being more commonly run counter-clockwise.
 
FXR athletes cashed in 38 total medals over the weekend and claimed championship titles in 14 out of 16 classes!

STOCK 200 

Gvanni D’Antonio #990 capped off the season with a perfect weekend, winning both of his heat races as well as the final. D’Antonio finished 2nd in overall points.

Tristian Hinton #313 was in a close battle for points that came down to the last race. Hinton was able to hold his points lead by two points and claim the #1 title in the Stock 200 class.

120 CHAMP 

Coming off a heat race win, Kooper Groen #172 went on to claim a big 3rd place finish in the 120 Champ final on Saturday night.

Tavin Knudson #722 placed 2-1 in his heat races on Saturday and scored 2nd in the final. Knudson’s success bumped him up to 2nd in overall points.

Avery Hemmer #415 finished off the season in style, donning her #1 jersey on the podium and claiming the big win with a no footer over the finish line jump.

JR GIRLS 9-13 

After going 1-2 in her heat races, Victoria Dillon #609 finished 3rd across the line in Saturday’s JR Girls 9-13 final, but was bumped up to 2nd after officials docked the 2nd place rider.

 

Avery Hemmer #415 claimed the title of 3rd place in overall points to wrap up the season.

Ava McCurdy #42 had much success over the season, rounding off the year 2nd in points. McCurdy announced that she will be bumping up to the Pro Am Women class next season.

Kendall Rose #120 earned herself a heat race win as well as the #1 spot on the box in Saturday’s JR Girls 9-13 final. Rose also won the championship by over 50 points.

TRANSITION 8-10

Victoria Dillon #609 earned her second podium finish of the weekend, scoring an impressive 2nd place in the Transition 8-10 final after going 2-4 in her heats.

 

Frequent podiumer Zach Miller #261 finished off the season 3rd place in the overall points race.

TRANSITION 9-13

Isaac Peterson #612 claimed 3rd place in the Transition 9-13 points championship.

Tanner Johnson #313 placed a consistent 2-2-2 in the Transition 9-13 class on Saturday. Johnson rounded off the season finishing 5th in points.

Popping bottles on the podium, Cameron Cole #747 scored double heat race wins on Saturday and went on to take 3rd place in the final. Cole claimed the title of points champion in the Transition 9-13 class.

JR 10-13

Isaac Peterson #612 won both of his heat races on Saturday and went on to take 3rd in the final. Peterson took home his second 3rd place in overall points of the season.

Tanner Johnson #313 was on top of the box in Saturday’s JR 10-13 final after scoring 3-1 in his heat races. Johnson finished 4th place in overall points.

Cameron Cole #747 earned his second championship title of the season after also claiming the title in the Transition 9-13 class.

JR 14-15

Steven Max #151 capped off the season with a 3rd in the overall points race. 

Connor Campbell #331 certainly made a name for himself this season, podiuming frequently and finishing off the season 2nd in overall points.

Crayden Dillon #906 placed a solid 3-3 in his heat races on Saturday and claimed the win in the JR 14-15 final.

Domenic Hegman #113 was a force to be reckoned with all season long. Looking to finish off strong, Hegman won both of his heat races on Saturday and was running in first in the final when he had an off. Hegman recovered to a 3rd place podium finish. Hegman took home the title of points champion in the JR 14-15 class.

 

JR 16-17

Tanner Zierden #816 made several podium appearances over the season, earning himself 3rd place in overall points.

Steven Max #151 claimed 2nd place in overall points after racing a very successful season in multiple classes.

Crayden Dillon #906 proved to be consistent all day, placing 3-3 in his heats on Saturday and scoring the big win in the JR 16-17 final.

Domenic Hegman #113 earned another championship title—his second of the season—bringing home the #1 plate in both the JR 14-15 and JR 16-17 classes. Hegman capped off the season with a 2nd place podium finish in the JR 16-17 class on Saturday.

SPORT LITE

 Kellen Chapuran #254 finished the season off strong, placing 4-1 in his heats on Friday and 1-1 in his heats on Saturday. Chapuran scored double 2nd place podium finishes over the weekend and claimed the title of points champion in the Sport Lite class. Chapuran consistently made podium finishes all season long, claiming at least one podium every single race weekend.

PRO LITE SNOWBIKE

The Pro Lite Snowbike class made its debut this season, starring Steven Max #151 who remained undefeated all season and claimed the title of points champion.

SPORT

Beau Tibbetts #223 placed well in his heat races all season long and earned a handful of podium finishes throughout the 16 round season. Tibbetts took home the title of 3rd place in the overall points race.

 

Eric Downs #129 raced impressively on Friday, going 2-3 in his heat races and scoring 3rd place in Friday night’s Sport final.

PRO AM PLUS 30

Seth Engel #447 placed a consistent 4-4 in his heat races on Friday and went on to take 3rd in the final. Engel finished 3rd in the overall points race.

Andy Lieders #57 finished off an extremely successful season on top of the box both nights over the final race weekend. Lieders went 1-1 both days of racing and took home the title of champion in the Pro Am Plus 30 class.

PRO SNOWBIKE

Troy Weakley #142 earned himself a 3rd place podium finish Friday night after going 4-3 in his moto’s.

Troy Horbaty #157 has been the up and coming Pro Snowbike athlete this season, giving reigning champ Jesse Kirchmeyer a run for his money. Horbaty went 2-1 and 2-2 in his moto’s over the weekend, scoring a 1st place overall on Friday night and 2nd place overall on Saturday night. Horbaty finished off the season 2nd in the points race.

Jesse Kirchmeyer #1 put a stamp on another successful season, finishing 1-3 in his moto’s on Friday and 1-1 in his moto’s on Saturday, resulting in a 2nd and 1st between the two nights of racing. Kirchmeyer was crowned points champion in the Pro Snowbike class for the third year in a row.

PRO AM WOMEN

Tausha Lange #214 has been fast and consistent all season, earning 4th place in overall points. Lange gained a solid 3rd place finish in Friday night’s Pro Am Women final after the rider in 1st got docked 3 positions, bumping Lange into the final podium position.

The Pro Am Women’s class championship came down to the final weekend of racing, and everyone was on the edge of their seat. Coming into the weekend, Malene Andersen #93 was tied for first in points with reigning champ, Megan Brodeur #31. Andersen rode hard, smart, and made all the right moves. Andersen went 1-1 in her heats on Friday and came across the finish line in the #2 spot in Friday night’s final. Brodeur came across in 1st, but an incident in the race caused Brodeur to come off the track. After failing to check for oncoming traffic before re-entering onto the track, Brodeur was docked 3 positions, resulting in 4th for the night and bumping Andersen into the #1 spot. On Saturday, Andersen went another 1-1 in her heat races, and, so long as she rode smart in the final, she was golden. Sure enough, Andersen rode smooth and smart, taking 2nd in the final and claiming the title of champion in the Pro Am Women class, what might be the biggest upset of the entire Snocross season. Had Brodeur not been docked points Friday night, Andersen still would have claimed the #1 title.

PRO LITE

Team LaVallee’s Ryley Bester #151 has always been a strong rider, but he really stepped it up a notch the second half of the season. Bester placed exceptionally well in his heats over the weekend, going 1-2 on Friday and taking 4th in the final, and going 2-3 on Saturday with a 2nd place podium finish to cap off the season. Bester finished 5th in overall points.

 

Also racing for Team LaVallee, unstoppable Adam Peterson #113 had a nearly perfect weekend of racing to finish off an outstanding season. Peterson won all of his qualifying races over the weekend as well as a 2nd place podium finish Friday night. Peterson clinched the championship title after Round 1 of racing on Saturday and finished off the season with 567 points.

 

PRO

After missing rounds 13 & 14 of racing due to health issues, Kody Kamm #53 was back with clear determination. Kamm placed well in his heats both days of racing, including two heat race wins. In Saturday night’s final, Kamm was in a three-way battle for the 3rd place position when the two riders in front of him took each other out, rewarding Kamm with the final podium spot. Kamm finished the season 9th in overall points.

 

Hentges Racing’s Oskar Norum #40 wrapped up an amazing season with double heat race wins and a 2nd place podium Friday night. Norum earned 7 total podiums over the course of the season and finished 3rd in overall points with 597 points, only 1 point behind 2nd place. In addition, Craig Marchbank of the World Championship Derby Complex rewarded Norum the Grand Snocross World Championship which was awarded to the top Pro rider between the two weekends of racing at the Eagle River track.

Fan favorite, Kyle Pallin #324 accomplished what may have been his most successful season this year, claiming 5 total podiums and finishing 6th in overall points. Pallin placed well in his heat races both Friday and Saturday, with a 4-3 and 4-1. Pallin was #1 qualifier going into Saturday night’s final, but despite a tough gate pick due to the Pro final’s reverse order, Pallin came off the line in 3rd, rode strong, and made the pass to finish off the night in 2nd.

 

It’s no secret that Boss Racing’s Elias Ishoel #200 has dominated the Pro class all season, with 11 final wins and 6 heat race wins. Ishoel capped off the season on top of the box both Friday and Saturday night’s, clinching his third straight championship title with 701 total points—over 100 points ahead of 2nd place.

AMSOIL DOMINATOR

The race for $10,000—historically ran in a head-to-head bracket-style structure, the Amsoil Dominator had a new format this year involving Pro and Pro Lite riders racing in their own respective heats. For the final, Pro Lite riders lined up on the front row, but the Pro class lined up six sled lengths behind the Pro Lite class.

Off the starting line, Adam Peterson #113 got out front early, but within half a lap, Elias Ishoel #200 found a gap and propelled himself into first despite the back-row disadvantage. Ishoel was looking to score his third Amsoil Dominator title, but a mechanical sent his sled tumbling and Ishoel to the sidelines to spectate the remainder of the race.

Adam Peterson capitalized, taking the lead and holding it to the finish line. Peterson is the first Pro Lite athlete in Snocross history to claim the Amsoil Dominator cup and $10,000 purse.

Congratulations to all FXR athletes on a fun and successful season. Have a great summer, and we’ll see you all back at the track when the snow starts flying!

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